Sidekicks
by AHigherOctave
Summary: “Sidekicks aren’t really supposed to end up together, are they?”
1. Part 1

Sidekicks

**AN: **This story is part of Five Times Friday. To find out more about FFT, go to my author profile and click on the LJ link. Or just ask me…that works too.

I'm supposed to be asleep. I have my nice blue sleeping bag all curled around me and it's not too hot…the moon is shining too bright through the window though. It's making me want to think. And I'm not liking the results.

It's happening a lot lately, this thing. My brain wants me to think, but then when it gets my results it goes _CODE RED, clear your head, go back to being the pretty dumb blonde, don't get too deep for your own good_. And I'm really sick of listening but…the other side scares me so much. I mean of all the things I could possibly ruin in my life, this can't be the one to risk. It can't. It can't, it can't, it can't. I should have just hid in my room for a week, but _nooo, _I wanted to have a Harry Potter movie marathon. And then the stupid-

"Hey Lilly?" A voice comes out of the darkness on the other side of me the moon doesn't touch. I don't answer, maybe if he thinks I'm asleep he'll just leave me alone. "Why is it that all libraries have the word memorial in their titles?"

"I don't know, Oliver," I say in my best, fake-agitated, sleepy voice. "Go back to bed."

"It's really bothering me though, why can't they just be the JFK library?" He continues, and I see a hand wave through the light. "Why does it have to be the JFK _Memorial_ Library?

I sigh, and turn onto my side so my back's facing him, "Oliver! I'm trying to sleep."

It's silent for a minute. Then I hear him snicker, "No you're not, you've been staring out the window for the past hour."

"You know, sometimes I really hate you." I mumble, still looking at Miley's kitchen island.

"Right, about as much as you hate chocolate covered strawberries and Rupert Grint." At the mention of Rupes, I stiffen. I'm really, really tempted to ask him something I shouldn't. "Lils, what's wrong?"

"Who said anything's wrong?" I ask, chewing nervously at my cuticles.

"Alright, what's right?" He inquires, and I can feel the smirk on my face. Sometimes I'd really like to throw our non-verbal communication skills out the window.

"Why does everything have to be something? Why can't things just be what they are? The light from outside is too bright and I can't sleep with it."

"You're right, nothing should be anything. You know what we should start with?"

"What?"

"Libraries should not be memorials."

"You're an idiot."

"I prefer the term doughnut."

"I prefer the phrase kiss my ass."

"Gladly." Part of me is tempted to reach my leg out to kick him, the other to ask him if he's serious even if I'm positive he isn't. "Why are you really awake?"

I really don't answer that question so I resort pettiness, "Why are you?"

"I asked you first," He retorts, and I'm thinking things so strongly now I kind of cave.

"No getting mad." I say it in the tone of a command, but we both know it's a silent promise.

"How come that never applies to your end of the bargain?"

"Because I'm a girl, and there's a greater chanced that you'll be an idiot." I smile to myself, and roll over to face him. The moonlight is covering him now. His hair is shimmering in an odd way with it, it's both light and dark at the same time. It's nice.

"I resent that." His smirk is there though, so he must not too much.

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" I ask, letting out a little breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"Yeah," He whispers, and he looks at me expectantly and I know he's waiting for something bigger than I'm ready to give him.

"Ron and Hermione are going to end up together," I tell him.

He laughs and reaches out a hand to ruffle my hair, "I know, Lillypie, it's been pretty obvious that it's been coming for years. And don't you pretend you didn't read half the little moments they had from the seventh book to me."

I smile in spite of myself, "How else are you going to know if they leave one out of the movie?"

"Maybe because you'll tell me over and over and over again." I bite my lip to keep from straight out grinning, he's making fun of me and that wouldn't be right to give him the satisfaction of knowing he's doing a good job. "Besides, they're doing the movie in two parts now. Trying to crank even more money out of the cash cow that is Ha-Ha-Ha-Harry Potter."

I laugh at the funny way he raise his voice as he elongates the name. Now what he just said is sinking in though, Deathly Hallows, two parts, score! "They are? How do you know? Does this mean I'll definitely get the wedding dance? And the Cattermoles look? And the-"

"I don't know beyond what Sarah was blabbering about in Accounting the other day," I feel a slight pang of guilt of sitting with Miley over him and leaving him to deal with Saint Sarah. Mostly, I just really want to know what else she knows though. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, in most other stories the hero ends up with the girl. Or the heroine ends up with the guy. Ron's not the hero though."

"Well, Hermione's not really the girl is she? I don't see her damsel-in-distressing around." I giggle, damn my uncontrollable laughter. "I think Harry's more of a damsel than she is."

Boy does he make me think screwed up things, "I just got a mental image of Harry wearing an olden day dress with long blonde Rapunzel hair."

"That sounds funny, e-mail it to me?" He cracks another grin.

"If only," I murmur. His eyes are looking into mine now, and he reaches out to take my hand. As I think of Miley upstairs, I'm reminded of a very specific part of book seven, "_He wondered if they'd fallen asleep holding hands_," Or something to that affect.

"Tell me, Lilly," Oliver says, and he squeezes my fingers in his.

"Sidekicks aren't really supposed to end up together, are they?" I ask very quietly.

"I don't know," He tells me, and I feel an overwhelming surge of something…it makes my eyes feel full for a second but then it travels away down my spine before I can define it. It just is. Just like so much else.

"Go to sleep, Oliver," I tell him, although I don't move from our hand-locked position.

"Night, Lillypie," He doesn't make any move to leave either. I trail my eyes to the floor. If I keep looking at his face I'll never fall asleep. It kind of doesn't seem like I will anyways.

**AN: **I'm exhausted, it's two am. I just had to get it all down on paper before it left me or started shaking my mind too much.


	2. Part 2

**AN: **Honestly, I really tried to leave this as a one-shot but it kept calling at me. Telling me it wasn't finished yet, and I tried to shush it but then it said something to me. It said I had to write it. I had to write it for one person in general: my best friend, Caitlin. And she's probably looking at this in her inbox and thinking I must indeed be put on some medication for sending it to her, which is why I love her so much. And because I love her, she needs to be with Sean. I know she's all Harry/Hermione but sidekicks are supposed to be with other sidekicks, babe. Partly because I'm never going to end up with Sean, ick. And partly because, well, she's already fallen from him and neglected to notice. Now I'm sorry if I make her cry, okay? I need her to read this though.

Part Two

We're just sitting on the floor, innocently eating ice cream. I mean, yes, my mother doesn't really like for us to substitute it for dinner but she's working late. So we do it anyways. Lilly's clicking through the channels quick like always, and man, is it annoying. I mean I can barely see what's on before, CLICK, it's gone again. Lilly watches TV likes she reads though, ungodly fast. So just as she's about to click it past Nickelodeon I grab the remote, because it's seven-thirty on a Saturday night and I know Spongebob's on. And it's a good episode of it too. The one where Mr. Krab's shoots a commercial at the Krusty Krab and Spongebob thinks he's famous.

Lilly doesn't think so. "God, what are you five?" I choose to ignore that comment and listen to Spongebob sing.

"The best time to where a striped sweater, is all the time!" I giggle and look at Lilly, I like her to join in my amusement at stupid things. She looks angry, but I think she's laughing on the inside.

Now she's getting up and going into the kitchen, she's rinsing out her bowl. Couldn't she do mine too? Pssh, selfish much. Oh god, that noise. Crap, if I get up she'll take me remote and I'll end up watching yet another episode of the Real World. And since the Collie/Alex/Jen love triangle from Denver I haven't really enjoyed it. Those are names I shouldn't know, aren't they? This is what I get for being severely lacking in guy friends. God, she just has to keep running that water! How long does it take to rinse a dish out?

Ooo, I've got a solution. I grab the remote and sprint towards the bathroom. "Oliver!" I hear her yell after me. "You can't take the remote in there, you cheater!" He, he, I enjoy winning. So I take care of things and go back out because even there's a good chance of her jumping me, I've learned you have to face these things at some point. And if she does jump on top of me, I might actually enjoy it a little. Okay, a lot. Alright, way too freaking much to be healthy for a best friend.

So I eagerly walk out of the bathroom and am disappointed to find her sitting in front of the TV watching Nickelodeon, not jumping on me or anything. And I wasted so much energy trying to anger her. She's watching iCarly, and I haven't seen this one before. She moves to change it when she sees me she tries to change it.

"Wait," I say, barely realizing I'm talking. I'm mesmerized somehow by the scene before me. Sam's telling everyone Freddie's never kissed a girl. Lilly's looking at the ground. "Let's watch this," I mumbled, sitting down on the rug next to her.

"Let's not," She squirms in her place and scoots away from me a little bit.

"Why not?" I mutter, still staring at the screen. "You love iCarly, last week you said Sam was like your twin."

"I was exaggerating because Miley loves Carly so much," She whispers, and I know she's lying because her nostrils flare.

"Okay, Lils," I snort and keep watching. After all, I've got the remote. It's actually a great episode, Carly ends up yelling at Sam for making Freddie's life miserable. And then Sam tells everyone she's never kissed anyone.

"So if you want to make fun of someone, make fun of me. Which isn't a good idea unless you live near a hospital," She threatens.

"Oliver, change it, I don't want to watch this," Lilly demands suddenly and reaches for the remote. I immediately jerk it away, Sam's going to talk to Freddie. "Oliver, I'm serious. I don't want you to watch this." She lunges for the remote.

I stand up, holding it over her head. The TV forgotten for a moment. "Why don't you want me to?"

"I meant us, me really. It has nothing to do with you." And there her nostrils go again, flare, flare, flaring away.

"Why Lilly?" I ask again, glaring at her.

"I don't know, I just don't feel like it." She tries to grab the remoter from me, and I twirl, catching sight of the TV again. Oh my god, they're kissing. I stop and stand still. Sam is kissing Freddie, or Freddie is kissing Sam. I don't know, Lilly made me miss that part. They're just pulling away now-

It's gone! What the hell just happened? Oh wait, I know what happened. Lilly happened, considering I'm not holding the remote anymore and she is. "I told you I didn't want to see that," She hisses at me.

"You didn't want to or you didn't want me too?" I ask angrily.

"Does it matter?" She yells, turning off the TV altogether.

"Why didn't you want me too?" I ask quietly.

"It wasn't you." She lies.

"Yes it was, Lillypie, I can see it, I'm not stupid."

"There's a billboard near Rico's that proclaims otherwise." She snorts, and picks at her nails.

Jesus christ, what does she have against me watching Sam and Freddie kiss? I mean, yeah, Sam's kind of mean sometimes and she never gives Freddie a break. She's pretty though, and she compliments him perfectly. All that bickering gives them chemistry doesn't it? Fighting is like their foreplay. They're kind of like- "Oh."

"No, Oliver," She shakes her head, "I know that look. And no. Just no, no, no."

I'm going to spew out something about her not knowing my looks. "Why not?" I say instead, and she freezes.

"W-w-what?" She croaks out after a minute.

I can barely find my voice. "W…why not?" I ask, and she looks up at me wide-eyed.

"I…I…" I don't know, just say it Lilly. Come on, just do it. "I've got to go," She mumbles and runs.

**AN: **Huh, this part wasn't supposed to happen but I think it actually adds to the story, what do you think?


	3. Part 3

Part 3

I've been avoiding Oliver all week. And by avoiding, I mean constantly bumping into him and scrambling to get away before he can say anything potentially more damaging to our friendship then he did last weekend. I'm not really sure it's possible, I can only think of three scary little words. And what's worse is I can actually see him saying them.

Which is why I'm here, at his doorstep, at an ungodly hour of Friday night…trying to decide if I should knock. On the one hand, if I just leave it alone we could forget about it and go back to normal. On the other, I doubt it and I don't want to take my chances and end up with only Miley for the rest of my life. And then there's a third option, the option that I might…I might…not be able to say. I don't even know if it's a choice. It's a maybe choice. Like the tiniest possibility it could actually happen. And if it did happen it would work? If it did though…god, what if it does?

I rap my fist against the wood three quick times. It takes about two minutes, but Oliver shows up in the doorway in a pair of Batman pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt. His hair is all over the place, and he's blinking slowly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't," He says slowly, rubbing his eyes. "Actually I was just about to go to bed."

I nod, "Well, never mind. Goodnight." I turn to go next door and to my own bedroom but he catches my arm.

"Nah, we need to talk," He smiles a little and lets go, walking down the hallway and leaving the door open for me.

I hesitate a moment, and then go in. He walks before me into the living room. The TV is on. That '70s Show's theme song is blaring out. It's one of the earlier episodes, judging by the fact that Leo's still in the Vista Cruiser during it. I sit down on the couch, away from him on the rug. We need space.

"Lils, what are you doing?" He asks, looking back at me. Okay, maybe it's more like _I _need space.

"Sitting," I inform him and he rolls his eyes.

"I mean over there, on the couch," He lets out a little smirk. "We both know you can't even see the TV from there." It's true. When Nancy redid the living room she didn't keep their comfort in mind so much as that the couch would look great under their new Rembrandt painting. It's not even real, it's a copy in a tacky gold frame.

"I can see fine," I tell him though. "It's much more comfortable over here."

He gives me a look, "Really?" I nod. "What color is Jackie's top?"

"Uh…purple?" It's gotta be either that or pink, right? And I can claim colorblindness.

"Jackie's not even in this scene."

"Oh," That I can't talk my way out of, can I? Maybe I'll tell him I've gonna legally blind and since I can only hear it doesn't matter? No…that sounds like something Jackson would say to get away from Sarah. Oh my god, has it really gotten that bad between us?

"Come sit next to me, Lillypie," He looks up at me with his big brown puppy dog eyes. Miley says he looks like a spastic monkey when he does that, but I don't see it. "Pwease," He sticks out his bottom lip. "I'll be your best friend," He smirks.

I sigh, "Oh fine," and crossover to sit next to him in front of the coffee table. I glance at the screen. Bob's just walking in, dressed in uniform. "What did I miss?"

"The Foreman's are having a Veteran's Day barbeque. So are the Pinciotti's. Jackie's all upset because Hyde doesn't like her…" He keeps going but I'm not really listening anymore. I know this one by heart now, I can't believe I didn't recognize it on my own.

Red and Bob are competing to see who can have the better barbeque. Not that I care, what I care about it is the guy Jackie brings to make Hyde jealous. I wait eagerly through the rest of the other crappy subplot to see Hyde talking to stupid Chip. To have stupid boy call Jackie a bitch. Right before Chip runs his mouth, I hear a voice from next to me, "I love this part." And then Hyde looks tortured for a moment before his fist connects with the jerk's face. Jackie comes running over.

I watch in anticipation and then they're finally on their date. And times passes because I'm so wrapped up in it, I forget everything else. I forget until the very end. I'm still not in my mind as they talk about bowling, then it happens. The kiss. The most perfect kiss ever. And I have never been so aware that Oliver is sitting next to me in my whole life. He must feel just as awkward, he must-

"God, he's such an idiot!" Oliver yells at the screen, knocking over an empty plastic cup on the table behind him. "Letting her go like that."

"He said he didn't feel anything," I shrug, entranced with him for some reason. I've never seen Oliver care so much about any couple besides Erika and Storm from his Grandma's soaps before.

"Yes he did!" He shakes his head angrily, standing up and starting to pace. "He touched his lips afterwards, you don't do that unless it's amazing or you've been making out so long your jaw hurts!" He breathes out hard, "And then, he lets her get back together with Kelso. Kelso! The lying, cheating bast-"

"Oliver, quit it, you're scaring me!" I shout at him, not really caring if I wake his parent's up.

"I don't care! You scare me with your Harry Potter babble all the time," He snaps, and looks at me. "They should have ended up together. Even after they date for real. She chooses Fez. It's wrong."

Then something occurs to me. Something I can't help but laugh at because it's so freaking ironic. He stops pacing as I go insane with giggles and snorts and all that good stuff, "What?" I just laugh harder, and he comes over and shakes me. "What?"

"Jackie…" I manage. "She…she and Hyde…" I stop for a minute. "They're sidekicks!" And I collapse in a ball on the floor, oh my god. It's just so hilarious.

"No…" His eyes go wide, and he sits down next to me. "Ron and Hermione, they're Harry's sidekicks. Sam and Freddie are Carly's. Jackie and Hyde aren't."

I try to constrain my utter amusement for a moment to get through my sentence, "Eric and Donna are the heroes. Jackie's Donna's sidekick, Hyde is Eric's." And suddenly, I don't feel so ecstatic anymore with the look on his face. I feel my stomach gurgling.

It's a long time before either one of us talks. We just sit there in the awkwardness and bake until we're too stressed to keep quiet. "Oliver-"

"Lilly-" We start at the same time. And we look at each other. I'm about to tell him to go ahead but then he kisses me. And as soon as his lips are on mine I can feel my body working on it's own, overriding every instinct in my brain telling me this is a bad idea and to stop. Instead, I lay a hand on his cheek and press against him as close as I so can. I taste the sour Icebreakers I steal off him on a regular basis on his tongue. Smell his shampoo in his hair. And then he's pulling away. Suddenly my brain's back.

"Oliver, we can't-" I begin.

"We can." He interrupts, glaring at me. "Don't tell me that was a mistake. I know you, Lillypie, and, god help me, I will make you tell the truth if I have to."

Despite that, I start to, I get the word, "I," out but that's as far as I get.

"I love you," Oliver stops me. "I know I'm an idiot, and I make you angry, and you think my hair looks stupid so long, and I'm the doughnut-next door, but I do."

"I…" I look him in the eyes. I'm scared, I want to be with you, I think I love you too. I can't say any of those words though, as much as I would like to. Something inside just can't let go.

Oliver knows though. He smiles at me, seemingly reading my mind. "It's okay, Lils, you'll get there someday. We'll do it, together." He takes my hand and squeezes. "In the mean time, you want some ice cream covered brownies?" He flashes a stupid smirk at me, and for some reason, my heart tugs up a little. Stupid organ is constantly betraying me, if only when it comes to him.

"Yeah," I nod, and he gets up, pulling me with him. So we make our sundae and sit on either side of the coffee table eating it. We keep watching That '70s show, even though Jackie thinks she's over Hyde in the next episode.

"Hey Lilly?" I hear from next to me, a long time later when we're both half-passed out on the floor in a chocolate coma. "Why are they gummy bears?" I groan out load and turn on my side. "Seriously, why can't they have gummy frogs? Or elephants!"

"They have gummy worms," I mutter, trying to cover my ears.

"Your right, that makes it right to discriminate against all the other animals! Because they have gross bugs that eat dirt."

"Goodnight Oliver," I murmur, closing my eyes easily for the first time in weeks.

"Goodnight Sweetheart."

**AN: **Originally Lilly was rambling about sidekicks and doughnuts at the end, right after the ILY ordeal. It seemed so cliché to me though, and I'm not big on those so I changed it to be more them. Thanks to anyone who's read all the way through this. That's awesome, hope you liked it. This'll probably be my last post for about a week, going on vacation in a place that is internet challenged. I'll probably have a bunch of new stories/one-shots/chapters when I get back though. So I'll see you all next Sunday. : P

**AN2: **I'm sorry for those of you who just suffered through the underlining, and thank you to all of you who pointed it out to me. It does it when I upload it onto FF but I usually edit it out before I post. I was just half asleep this morning, so I'm changing it now. So sorry.


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